Sega's Crazy Taxi has thrilled as an arcade game, a console game and an iOS title. Now it's available on Android too. The game – a port of the Dreamcast console version – sees you speeding through San Francisco-esque streets collecting and delivering passengers in the most hair-raising way possible, with two modes and a bunch of mini-games to prolong the action.

"The Polamatic app brings back the instant nostalgia of Polaroid pictures," explains the Google Play listing for this app. Wait, isn't that Instagram though? Whether Polaroid still has the clout as a brand to find a niche in the photo-sharing apps space is open to question, but this has filters, borders and captions in its arsenal, as well as a variety of sharing options.

Tiny Thief is the latest game from Rovio Stars, the new publishing business that's part of Angry Birds-maker Rovio. Inspired by classic point'n'click adventure games, it sees the titular hero exploring six quests, with some delightful puzzles and surprises in store.

Pearltrees is hoping to "collect, organize and share all your interests in one place", grabbing webpages, photos, notes and other content and storing it centrally, so you can get to it from all your devices. So a bit like Evernote, then, but with an inventive user interface to group related stuff together, and some useful collaboration features.

Snoop Dogg isn't scared of apps experimentation, as his photo-sharing app Snoopify showed earlier in the year. His latest app outing is a more-traditional game though. Way of the Dogg is a fun "rhythm-action combat adventure" with Snoop's music as the backdrop.

The world of messaging apps is a crowded place to say the least, but the ones that cut through the clutter are hugely popular. It's early days for just.me, but nearly 10k people have already downloaded it in a few days since release. It aims to combine texting, email and social networking in one app, pulling in your contacts book and posting to Facebook and Twitter when required.

Sprinkle was an excellent physics-puzzler when it came out, but now there's a sequel. The gameplay is the same at heart: put out fires over 48 levels, using as little water as possible. Now there are boss battles, better touchscreen controls and even spiffier graphics.

You wait ages for a rhythm-action combat adventure to come along, then two turn up at once. This is based on French house artist Kavinsky, is set in Downtown Los Angeles, and sees you duffing up a succession of street-thugs to the tune of Kavinsky's music. It can also pull in real-world scenery via the camera to act as the background, if you so desire.

Already preloaded on some of Samsung's Android devices, Paper Artist has now opened up to a wider range through the Google Play store. It's a photo-editing app with more than 30 "artistic styles" to apply to your photographs, including scribbling on them with a virtual pen or brush. The results can then be shared to social networks.

Hang w/ came out earlier in the year for iOS as a livestreaming video app dangling the prospect of celebrities to chat to. Musicians Timbaland, Kaskade and sports stars Terrell Owens and Chad Ohcocinco are among those using the app, but the appeal is as much about broadcasting your own live video channel and chatting to friends.

Gbanga has been exploring location-based mobile games for years, with this mobster-themed title its latest release. It sees you trying to conquer real-world locations, collecting virtual items and challenging other players. The obvious comparison is Red Robot Labs' Life is Crime game, which came out a couple of years ago.

You're going to see a lot of gem-swapping monstery games come out in the next few months, thanks to the lucrative success of a Japanese game named Puzzle & Dragons, which you can't (yet) play in the UK. Monster Match is getting in early with its slant on the genre, splicing gem-matching with Pokemon-style monster collecting and battling.

It's fair to say that Disney's The Long Ranger film has been something of a disappointment at the box office. Can the official mobile game do any better? It's a roleplaying game that sees you exploring the world of the film, meeting the Lone Ranger, Tonto, Butch Cavendish and other characters along the way.

This colourful free-to-play game is picking up some steam in its first few days on the Google Play store, influenced (a bit) by the Pocket God game that's proved highly popular on iOS and Android. The Meego are "wacky, volcano-dwelling villagers", with your job being to build their village, go on quests and "collect rare birthstones by strategically breeding villagers". Which sounds creepy, but the game looks quite fun.

"This is not another podcasting app. PRX Remix is, quite simply, the greatest radio station of all time," claims the Google Play listing for this app from Public Radio Exchange. Well, it's good to be confident. And that confidence is at least manifested in a stylish app for listening to stories from independent producers.

Another blockbuster movie hoping for a blockbuster mobile game – this time based on Guillermo del Toro's new flick. It takes its cues from Infinity Blade, with more than 30 levels to fight your way through, with plenty of enormous monsters lining up to be sent crashing to the floor in combat.

Talking of monster-slaying... Iesabel is a characterful-looking action-RPG game that has you exploring sprawling 3D landscapes, hacking, slashing and looting as you go. The developers are making a point of noting its lack of in-app purchases too: "You can't buy victory; you have to earn it with your own skills."

Children's apps have tended to come out first or exclusively on iOS, but there's evidence in 2013 of developers looking to Android sooner. That's good news for parents with Android devices. This is a colourful maths game aimed at pre-school children, focusing on simple addition, subtracting, counting and ordering tasks. It's one of a range of new Android apps from developer i Learn With that have just gone live on Google Play.

Something else for Android kids here from one of the biggest children's brands in the world: Sanrio's Hello Kitty. It's set in a fairground starring Hello Kitty and her friends: a game where children unlock new attractions as they play. The game does use in-app purchases, so parents will want to be on top of their IAP restrictions settings.

Finally, another fun-looking casual game, this time based around (virtual) buttons and scissors being cut out of denim. The buttons have to be cut off in lines of two or more horizontally, vertically or diagonally, leading to much brain-scratching to solve the game's levels.

That's this week's selection, but what do you think? Make your own recommendations, or give your views on the apps above, by posting a comment.